Page 24 of Sugar Plum Fae

For a moment, it seemed to be working. But then the thralls' expressions hardened, and as one, they turned back to the well, pickaxes swinging.

The battle was on. Candace threw herself into the fray, unleashing every non-lethal power at her disposal. The air crackled with the collision of light and shadow as she and Roderick both started to cast defensive spells. Shadows snakedfrom Roderick’s fingertips, weaving through the mass of thralls with the elegance of a midnight waltz, entwining them in smoky tendrils that tangled them up.

"Your turn to dazzle them," he said.

"Thought you'd never ask." Candace clapped her hands, summoning the sweetness of her sunsidhe essence. The scent of sugar and spice curled into the air around her as she stretched out her hands toward the thralls.

"Careful, sugar plum. Wouldn't want you to break a nail."

"Please, I don't break—I bend." With a flick of her wrist, Candace sent a surge of sugary energy toward a cluster of thralls, their grotesque forms dissolving into motes of shimmering dust as they met her unyielding joy.

"Who knew the Sugar Plum Fairy had such a right hook?"

"Comes with the territory. I may be full of joy and sweetness, but I’m no pushover."

Candace extended her hand, palm glowing with an ethereal luminescence, and Roderick met it with his own shadow-drenched fingers. Their powers mingled, light and dark swirling in a mesmerizing yin and yang that coalesced into a magical barrier around the ancient well. The thralls recoiled as the shield solidified, a dome that was both prison and protector.

“Leave the well, for now,” Zenaida said, emerging from the trees where she had been hiding. “Kill the fae. Use the iron weapons.”

“Shit,” Roderick said. “Stay behind me.”

“Not a chance.”

The thralls swarmed them, brandishing spiky maces. Roderick blurred into motion, his magic strikes as solid as the stones in the wishing well as he kept the thralls and their lethal weapons away from them. His arms swung with a ferocity that was both mesmerizing and terrifying, a testament to the power he wielded as a being born from the night itself.

As they fought off the thralls and the painful grazes from the iron weapons, Candace saw that Zenaida was not sitting on the edges of the battlefield. Twelve other witches formed a circle with her, chanting in a guttural tongue. Zenaida raised her arms, dark energy crackling at her fingertips. The air grew heavy, charged with power that raised the hairs on Candace's arms.

Black lightning hit the barrier around the well, and Candace shoved with her power to get the thralls away from her so she could have room to counter the effect. But they were too much for both her and Roderick to take their attention away from. As long as they were attacking with iron weapons, they could seriously damage them.

More black lightning peppered the barrier. The grove shook with the impact. Drawing on her magic, Candace flung out a hand. A wave of glittering light erupted from her fingertips, washing over the thralls. They recoiled, shielding their eyes and stumbling away from the well. But she was too late. The witches were too strong. With a deafening crack, the magical barrier around the well shattered as more bolts hit the weakened parts of it.

Candace cried out as the backlash threw her and Roderick to the ground. Dazed, they could only watch as the coven advanced, malicious triumph in their eyes.

“I can’t breathe,” she said, the wind knocked out of her.

“Don’t worry, Sugar Plum, I’ve got a plan,” Roderick said, the whites of his eyes bleeding into a solid black. “I bequeath to you the realm of nightmares.”

“Wait, what?” she said, swiveling her head to him.

His hair whipped around him like ink-black tendrils, obscuring his face. An aura of shadows began to envelop him, drawing the dark energy from within. He was using his life force to protect the well.

"No, don’t,” Candace cried out, her chest tightening with dread.

“I love you. Protect Whitlock from people like Zenaida,” he said. With a deep, guttural roar, Roderick released the shadows. They burst forth like a tidal wave, smashing into the witches and throwing them off course. But the onslaught of darkness came at a price—Roderick sagged, his body weakened by the immense sacrifice. He was pale and trembling, the void already claiming him.

"You can't do this," she begged. "I won't let you go."

Roderick gave her a sad smile. "Some things are worth sacrificing for."

Candace shook her head fiercely. "Not you. Never you."

She threw her arms around him, letting her light pour into him. Roderick gasped as her radiance flooded his veins, driving back the grasping shadows. “It’s not over,” she said. It was time to call in some backup. Candace opened a portal from the Land of Sweets.

“To arms!” she called. “We need you.”

An army of candy warriors poured forth, massive gumdrop golems wielding giant candy canes as weapons. Pixie archers let fly storms of needle-sharp peppermint darts. A stampede of gummy bears the size of grizzly bears charged forth.

As the gummy bears engaged the witches' thralls, candy fae zipped above the fray, showering the witches with pixie sticks filled with sugar. The granules stung their eyes, blinding them and sending them into disarray. The witches faltered, shocked by this sudden onslaught. Seizing the advantage, the candy army smashed into them with unrestrained fury.